Black Bear
(Ursus americanus)
Description:
A large mammal with powerful limbs, a small head, and small, rounded ears.
Female black bears weigh 125-150 pounds, whereas adult males are larger,
typically weighing 200-250 lbs. Black bears have several color phases;
most in the northeast are all black with a brown or tan muzzle. Some
individuals have a small, white chest patch, called a blaze. Black bears
have five toes with well-developed claws on each foot. They walk on the
soles of their feet, just like humans.

Range and Distribution:
Black bears range throughout Canada except the n. coast. In the United
States it occurs in the Sierras, Idaho, and AL Montana, s. through the
Rockies into Mexico, n. Great Lakes area, Ozarks, Gulf Coast, Florida, and
New England s. through the Appalachians to n. Georgia The black bear is
found in a ten counties in New Hampshire.
Habits and Habitat:
Black bears change their diet seasonally, taking advantage of available
foods. When they emerge from their den in spring, black bears eat grasses
and other newly emerged succulent plants. In summer they shift to more
nutritious foods including berries, fruits, roots, blossoms and insects.
Hard mast -- beechnuts, acorns, and hickory nuts -- are the staple fall food
source. When natural foods are not abundant, black bears will seek
alternative foods such as agricultural crops, bees from commercial hives,
garbage, suet, and sometimes livestock.
Black bears inhabit forested areas with thick understor-y vegetation.
Wetlands and riparian areas are important components of their habitat.
Optimal habitat typically includes large tracks of forest with little human
disturbance.
Black bears are not true hibernators as they can be roused from their winter
sleep. During deep, winter sleep, their heart rate and breathing drops 50-60
percent, body temperature drops by 7-8 degrees, and they lose a quarter of
their weight. Black bears usually den in brush piles, logging slash or
hollow trees, under a fallen tree or under rock outcrops. Typically, winter
dens are 5 1/2 feet long and 2 feet high.
Black bears generally are solitary creatures. Two to 4 cubs are born in late
January or early February while the female is denning. The young bears
remain with the female throughout the next winter and disperse the next
spring. During spring, summer, and fall bears may be active during the day,
usually at dawn and dusk.
In areas with greater human interaction, bears tend to be more active at
night. Adult male black bears may range up to 120 square miles, while
females range over a smaller area, about 10 sq. miles. Females begin
breeding at 34 years of age; most breed once every two years.
Management:
Black bear are best suited to large forested areas with a mix of wetlands,
thick understory vegetation, and a diverse source of food including
beechnuts, acorns, berries, and other mast. Preferably, these areas are
relatively undisturbed by humans and are unfragmented by roads.
Complete winter bird feeding by mid-April each year to prevent bears from
visiting backyard feeders in the spring. If you continue bird feeding, take
your feeder inside at night.
Something's Bruin in New Hampshire
Learn to Live with Bears!

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pertinent Federal and State laws and regulations on non-descrimination
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Department, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Services cooperating.